Peace Department Reflections: World NGO Day
Today is World NGO Day. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are essential to a functioning democracy and thriving world. Aside from providing vital services, often stepping in to fill gaps that governments fail to meet, NGOs speak truth to power and catalyze much-needed and systematic social change. Despite their indispensability in protecting our voice, security, and freedom, NGOs the world over are experiencing unprecedented challenges, as repressive policies and pervasive funding cuts chip away at the nonprofit sector. Democratic freedom depends on protecting the right to associate, ensuring that even within a context of party conflict and changing political tides, minority views are safeguarded.
In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has moved to dismantle USAID, one of the largest funders and champions of civil society around the world; frozen grants to domestic NGOs, stymying resources meant to uplift some of the country’s most disadvantaged and structurally marginalized communities; eliminated DEI programs, to the detriment of minoritized groups and decades of social justice progress; targeted climate-related initiatives as part of a sweeping erasure of all things climate change; and, instructed all executive branch departments and agencies to root out NGOs that do not align with President Trump’s “priorities.” While claiming these groups “undermine” the security, prosperity, and safety of the American people, history has shown the opposite to be true. Reforming international aid, questioning philanthropy’s influence and accountability, and instituting legitimate regulatory changes to the nonprofit sector are all valid pursuits. However, if the systematic dismemberment of civil society is the goal here, it may be a harbinger of further constraints on democratic institutions to come.
NGOs are the lifeblood of sustainable development and peacebuilding. For The Peace Department, our NGO partners are the conduits of transformative change, seeding hope and resilience in communities impacted by the world’s most pressing problems. Whether working to alleviate poverty, improve health, advocate for social justice, prevent conflict, respond to disaster, or save our planet, NGOs are at the center of creating a better, safer, more vibrant world for us all. So today, on NGO Day, we must steadfastly support civil society, both at home and abroad, and take action to protect the institutions and programs so vital to the prosperity of all people and our shared home.
Here are some things you can do:
Stay informed.
There are resources available where you can track the impact Trump Administration policies are having on civil society, both domestically and internationally.
If you’re directly affected, inform others on how Trump Administration actions are impacting your work.
Adapt your programmatic and philanthropic strategy.
As daily disruptions continue on the federal level, now is a good time to engage at the sub-national and local level. Advocate for greater state and municipal funding of nonprofits to counter resources revoked by the federal government. Support place-based organizations and initiatives embedded in communities that have constituencies who will stand up for them. Band together with like-minded organizations and funders to shape strategy and pool resources. This is the time for us to reach across sectors to fill critical gaps and implement approaches that will enable communities most impacted by these policies to thrive.
This NGO Day, it’s especially important to acknowledge these trends impacting our civic spaces while pledging to stand by NGOs, as both a bulwark against oppression and a reflection of the very best of our shared humanity.
